Improvement in stop-motion pob steam engines



CHARLES S. VESTLAND, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

Letters Patent No. 65,711, dated June 11, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN STOP-MOTION FOR STEAM ENGINES.

iige S-tbrhule munt itin time trttcts lntcnt :un marking part uf tige smul.

T0 ALL WHOM lT'MAY CON CERN:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. W'ESTLAND, of Providence, in the county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and improved Stop-Motion and Regulator; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication. i

This inventionirelates to a method oi' stopping or slackening the motion of a pumping engine when from any cause the pressure has been suddenly removed; and the invention consists in providing a cylinder and piston, and connecting` the same with the air-chamber of the pump, or to any other part where the pressure can be obtained, and with a valve inthe steam pipe, whereby, through the action of aspring or some equivalent device the-steam is shut oil, or partially shut off, from the exigirle, as may be desired, when, from the bursting of the hose or other acaident, the pressure is removed from the air-chamber, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Figure represents a view of my arrangement on a reduced sca-le, showing my cylinder connected with the air-chamber and with the rod of the throttle-valve in the steam pipe.

Figure 2 represents a vertical section ofthe cylinder and steam pipe on a larger scale, showing the different parts, and also a section of the pipe which connects the cylinder with the air-chamber.

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent a modification, whereby the same result is obtained in a different manner.

Similar lett-ers of reference indicate like parts. i

A represents my regulating cylinder, which is connected with the air-chamber. B is the air-chamber. C is the pipe which connects the cylinder with. the air-chamber. D is a piston in the cylinder A. E represents a spiral spring within the cylinder A, which is placed between the piston and the cylinder-head. F is the pistonrod. G represents the steam pipe. H is a throttle-valve in the steam pipe. J is a lever attached to the throttle-valve rod, by which the valve is operated. K is an arm attached to the steam pipe. It is doubleslotted through its upper portion. The lever .l is moved up and down in one slot, and the other slot holds an adjustable index or guide-plate, a, the position of which, on the arm K, determines the quantity of steam to be shut oil". The end of the leverA .l passes through a slot in piston-rod F, as seen in the drawing. The guide orindex a is adjusted to the arm by a thumb-screw, or in any other suitable manner. The arm is graduated so that the lines on it may indicate any pressure which it is desired to leave on the pistonof the engine, or the speed to be retained when the engine is not entirely stopped. As the tendency of the spiral spring in the aperture is to press down the piston D, and consequently draw down the lever J and close the throttle-valve, I have shown in tig. 3 a modification by which the engineer may set the lever to regulate the pressure or speed et' the engine. This is done by the stop C, which is made to slide on the piston-rod, and is fastened at any desired point by a set-screw. '.lhis` stop prevents the rod from being drawn downward by the spring, as the spring bears upon the top of' the cylinder-head. The piston-rod in this case is graduated by guide-marks instead of the arm. Instead of using a spring in the cylinder'thc down pressure on the piston D may be obtained by steam from the steam pipe. m represents a. pipe which connects the upper portion of the cylinder with the steam pipe G. When the pressure below the piston D is removed the steam abo'velit would force it down and close the throttlevalvc H. It is to be understood that H is not the valve by which lthe steam is ordinarily let on to or shut olf from the engine, and which is under the control of the engineer. The throttle-valve H isan additional valve in the steam pipe for the especial purpose before mentioned. It is immaterial whether the connection with the cylinder A is made with the lower portion of the air-chamber, or with its upper or air portion, or with the pump- Vbarrel' itself, as the pressure in either case produces the same result.

The operation ofthe arrangement will be readily understood from the drawing. The pressure on the under side of thepiston in the cylinder A (when the engine and pump are in operation) will be the same as the pressure in the air-chamber, communication between them being free, and the pressure by the spring, or other wise, upon the upper side of the piston is designed to be about equal to it, so'that when the pump is in operation there would be about an equilibrium in the pressure on theipiston D. The pressuredof the spring ma;r be.

increased or diminished by the ca N, which forms the to of the c linder`benrin0' down the s rin on to the P P Y a .c s P g piston and increasing its tension, or by unscrewing it the tension is diminished. 1n this condition, with the pressure on the piston nearly balauced,`and-the,engine and pump in motion, if the hose should burst, or the supplyot' water should be exhausted, or any other accident whereby the pressure on the piston l) waswremovcd or materially diminished, and in consequence of which it became necessary to stop the engine or to check its speed, the superior pressure on the upper side of the piston would force it down and close the throttle-valve, or partially close it, according as the engineer had set the lever J. rlhe steam engine might be allowed to move `with the steam gate or valve open whilen new piece of hose could be coupled. lfVhen this was done the pressure would be suilicent to immediately reise the piston D and let onithe full pressure of .steam to the engine. In the mediiications shown in the li, 5, ti, and 7, the same result is obtained by winding up a spring on to a cylinder, as shown in Iig. 5. The action. of the spring is communicated to the piston by nratchet-wheel and pawl, the ratchet-wheel being held in position by a dog, as scen.

I am aware that thereare other ways and mvethods by which the pressure of the water may be made to operate upon a valve in the steam pipe than those herein shown and described.

My invention, as before stated, consists in stopping and regulating the action oLthe steam engine and pump, by the movement of a piston in a cylinder which shall act upon the valve in the steam pipe, when, from any cause, the pressure is` removed from the air-chamber.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

'1. The combination of the air-chamber B, pipe C, regulating cylinder A containing the piston D and spiral spring E, piston-rod F, with or without the sliding-stop c and graduations, steam pipe G containing the valve H, lever J, double-slotted graduated arm K holding the adjustable index a., and pipe m, substantially as described for the purpose specied. A

f2. The arrangement of the spring on the cylinder communicating 'action to the piston' by a ratcbet-WhceL `and pawl, as -shown in 5, said ratchet-wheel held in position by a dog, substantially as described for thepurpose spccied.

The above specification oi' my invention signed by me this 7th day of February, 1867.

CHARLES S. WESTLAND.

Witnesses:

ALEX.' F. ROBERTS, J. M. COVINGTON. 

